I have never seen these guys play. Unfortunately, we were packing up kids for an afternoon in the park and arrived on their next to last song. That’s officially the second time I missed them. Bummer, cause they sounded good. Next time fellas. More photos here…

This Brooklyn based duo was sandwiched between a few local acts and were stunned at the energetic reception they got. Hey, a Friday night in Lawrenceville almost certainly gets a good response no matter who you are nowadays. Not taking anything away from them at all. They were surprisingly enjoyable, bashing through their ‘garage blues’ set as best they could being a two-piece and all…

This is one great bill. I easily would have seen any of these artists by themselves. The fact that they are playing together makes this a must see show for me. Thanks to Drusky Entertainment, I have a pair of passes to give away. As always, entering is really easy. Just email me at hughshows@comcast.net with the subject line ‘Sea Wolf’ and provide the name in the message that you want for the folks at will call the night of the show. This is good for you and a friend to attend. The show is all ages. The winner will be randomly picked and contacted on Saturday September 18. Good luck and I will hopefully see you there….

I have to admit, I was disappointed in this show. Their latest album is a top ten contender for me and my expectations were maybe too high for that reason. Several things marred this performance for me, first and foremost is that the band just didn’t seem to be into it, despite the fact that Kevin came out and announced that he and Brendan were celebrating recent birthdays. Could they have been hung over? Last time they played here, Brendan was jumping all over the stage. This night he was a zombie. Four songs in, Lisa Lobsinger came out and sucked whatever minuscule life was left in the room to bring the performance to a dead stop. The other off thing was the room. I love the Byham. I just don’t think it’s suited for a rock show. Some people want to dance, some want to sit. This isn’t the venue to accommodate for both. Maybe I am a bit too harsh but I was hoping for a stellar show and did not get one by a long shot. They were good, not great. More photos here…

I didn’t know anything about this band before this session and both my wife and I were blown away by their story. Many bands complain about lousy food or stinky vans while touring and these guys have dealt with losing family and friends in their home country. It sometimes takes a little perspective to understand how much most of us have here to appreciate it more. What’s so remarkable is their music is just so joyous. First time I have seen audience members wanting to boogie so bad. The simple power of music is awesome. More photos here and here. The set will be up soon here…

So did you realize that the World Championship of pinball is held in an old warehouse every year in Carnegie? Yeah, I didn’t either until I stumbled upon this event through a few different sources. I certainly had no idea what to expect but quickly found out this was serious business for the contestants. You can get all kinds of info in the above links but just being there as a spectator, I have to say it was a blast. The annual event is open to the public and I didn’t realize in playing a few games how my childhood memories of spending countless hours (and quarters) in the neighborhood arcade came flooding back. I totally recommend visiting next year because remarkably the place is only open during the four days of the tournament…

I was really psyched to see this show because I have never seen them live before. The first time I had ever even heard of the band was when they were going to open for Guided By Voices at Rosebud in 2001. Unfortunately, the concert was cancelled and for some reason or another, I could never make any of their shows here since then. I have to say that they were incredible. What really struck me was that the sound was extremely loud and equally as clear. I cannot remember a more perfect ‘sounding’ show as this one. Add to the fact that they are all killer musicians backing Jim James voice and it easily turned out to be one of the best shows of the year for me. More photos here…

Photo courtesy the band’s myspace. Jon plays keyboards in The Chad Sipes Stereo. He has another band in Pittsburgh called ATLAS and he just sent me a tune called ‘At The Water’s Edge‘ from their debut EP, which arrives in October. Along with his buddy and fellow band member Mike, they were cool enough to participate in this, the finale of our week-long extravaganza known as First/Last…

Here we go again. Three days, three giveaways! Pretty sweet. Thanks to Corey, I have a pair of tickets to give away to the band’s show on Sunday. This is no ordinary event. For the past year, Corey has been writing and recording a song every week and blogging the
. The concert is a celebration of the completion of the project. He’s invited some friends to partake and should be a surprising and amazing time. To enter, email me at hughshows@comcast.net with ‘Project 52’ in the subject line. Supply the name you want for the folks at will call the night of the show good for two passes…

First off, courtesy of the band, I have two tickets to give away for their show this weekend with local heroes Meeting Of Important People and All Tiny Creatures from WI at Brillobox. To enter, email me at hughshows@comcast.net with the subject line ‘Mariage Blanc’ and the name for the folks at will call the night of the show good for two passes. The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted by Saturday afternoon. Good luck…

Let’s get the business out of the way first. I have a pair of passes to the show this Thursday courtesy of Make It Bigger Mama Publicity. To enter, just email me at…

The band is playing a gig this week with Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship from Nebraska and locals Thee Shopkeepers. Liam was cool enough to participate in this, the first day of a week long edition of the ever popular First/Last…

p>If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you will see a widget about Ben Hardt’s campaign to produce his new album. He would like to release 3 albums in 9 months and is asking the public for donations to do so. As of now,..

So my buddy and one of the original old school Pittsburgh music bloggers Ben is throwing a party this weekend. He’s calling it Bait & Bullets and info can be found here…

I love revisiting older photos. Again, why I wait to post them is sometimes beyond me. This was the most ‘rocking’ I have ever heard the band. Boca Chica ROCKS! Sounds good to me…

As much as I love live music, one of my favorite things to do is hang out with a musician on their turf and just shoot the breeze. I get to know them on a personal level and can appreciate what they do more so than just watching them perform. Brendan Renne is Summer Lungs. A self-described ‘singer-songwriter’ who happens to perform electronic music. As it turns out, we have been wanting to get together for awhile now and was finally able to last week…

I really wanted to see the band’s set later that night at the Rex but was at the McCartney show. My buddy went and said it was stellar. Definitely next time. This studio session was a little tease of the energy this band brings to a full show…

There is a bit of a misconception around town that the few of us who blog about music are in some sort of competition against each other. That idea could not be further from the truth. In fact, most of us know each other quite …

For a music lover here in Pittsburgh, it’s been one awesome summer. I have been thrilled to host these giveaways every week and the response was just phenomenal. I want to sincerely thank each and every person who entered, it really means so much to me that you visit this blog…

It’s hard not to listen to Nik’s debut and not have it stick in your head for days. I always jump at the chance to see him play. He announced at the start of his set that tonight..